So I've been looking at the new Imperial Aces upgrades and have been thinking of what could happen with them. If we add the Royal Tie Guard title car to Fel, he gains an additional upgrade slot. We then upgrade Fel with Push the Limit as usual, and two stealth upgrades. This would grant Fel an agility of 5, with two actions available to him. The ability to roll 5 dice, 6 if at range 3, would make Fel an even harder target to kill. Focus, second action evade, then gain a stress token activating Fels pilot ability by gaining another focus, he would be a pain to destroy.

The Royal Guard title reads "You may equip up to 2 different Modification upgrades (instead of 1)."

If wish we could add two stealths lol , that would rock. Vader with stealth and elusive is as close as you can get!

Fel needs PTL and benefits from SD. *IF* (big if!) I were to ever give him a second upgrade I'd go for Target Lock.

If wish we could add two stealths lol , that would rock. Vader with stealth and elusive is as close as you can get!

use different language cards? sure, they still add 1 agility, but the english stealth device cant be the same as the german one XD

I am going to try a heavily modded Ibitsam tonight: elusiveness, Stealth and sensor Jammers

As soon as she gets Stress from either Elusiveness or a red maneuver her rerolling ability is activated (1 dice on Attacks and/or on defense. Stealth adds a dice so on R3 she starts off with 3 dice and can still force the opponent to reroll 1 red dice and may reroll one of her greens

I am going to try a heavily modded Ibitsam tonight: elusiveness, Stealth and sensor Jammers

As soon as she gets Stress from either Elusiveness or a red maneuver her rerolling ability is activated (1 dice on Attacks and/or on defense. Stealth adds a dice so on R3 she starts off with 3 dice and can still force the opponent to reroll 1 red dice and may reroll one of her greens

Stealth on a 1 agility ship is a waste. Even if you could get sensor jammer to work every time, stealth isn't going to last more than 2 shots.

I am going to try a heavily modded Ibitsam tonight: elusiveness, Stealth and sensor Jammers

As soon as she gets Stress from either Elusiveness or a red maneuver her rerolling ability is activated (1 dice on Attacks and/or on defense. Stealth adds a dice so on R3 she starts off with 3 dice and can still force the opponent to reroll 1 red dice and may reroll one of her greens

Stealth on a 1 agility ship is a waste. Even if you could get sensor jammer to work every time, stealth isn't going to last more than 2 shots.

Try it out before you mock it.

In an ideal scenario, Ibby vs. Tie Swarm at R3, Ibby is throwing down 3 green dice, and the swarm is only throwing 1 red (well, technically 2, but SJ is going to change one to a focus, which since we're saying this is the ideal scenario, they won't have a focus to modify it back).

So now SJ has prevented 7 damage. Meanwhile, the probability of getting hit 1v3 is 12%, if we consider her reroll as a 4th die (due to the reason it's easier for me to do the math since it's already done) she only has a 7.6% of being hit. That means, at the end of the 7 attacks, she has a 42% chance of not being hit yet.

So, before you blindly write off stealth on a 1 agi ship, think of how it would be used in that specific build first.

With all of that said, the stealth device on a standard 1 agi ship only protects ~.6 damage, I'm sure for ibby it's a bit higher, but I doubt it comes close to 1 since even on a 3agi ship it's only ~.85 best case. But if you're trying your best to make someone as non-killable as possible, its better than nothing (though the hull upgrade would now be a better use of points).

Edit: Also, as someone who has tried that build out - I found that I'm not that big of a fan of the SD on Ibby. While the first round you'll be a R3 and get a 3rd die, it means that you haven't swooped in such that you action denied the enemy, allowing SJ to block damage. As such, they're really throwing 2 dice, and she'll take damage like a normal ship, and then lose the SD before the next engagement when SJ can kick in and actually protect the SD. I suppose you could keep her out of the engagement for an extra turn, but then your other ships are getting attacked and dead.

I am going to try a heavily modded Ibitsam tonight: elusiveness, Stealth and sensor Jammers

As soon as she gets Stress from either Elusiveness or a red maneuver her rerolling ability is activated (1 dice on Attacks and/or on defense. Stealth adds a dice so on R3 she starts off with 3 dice and can still force the opponent to reroll 1 red dice and may reroll one of her greens

Stealth on a 1 agility ship is a waste. Even if you could get sensor jammer to work every time, stealth isn't going to last more than 2 shots.

Try it out before you mock it.

In an ideal scenario, Ibby vs. Tie Swarm at R3, Ibby is throwing down 3 green dice, and the swarm is only throwing 1 red (well, technically 2, but SJ is going to change one to a focus, which since we're saying this is the ideal scenario, they won't have a focus to modify it back).

So now SJ has prevented 7 damage. Meanwhile, the probability of getting hit 1v3 is 12%, if we consider her reroll as a 4th die (due to the reason it's easier for me to do the math since it's already done) she only has a 7.6% of being hit. That means, at the end of the 7 attacks, she has a 42% chance of not being hit yet.

So, before you blindly write off stealth on a 1 agi ship, think of how it would be used in that specific build first.

With all of that said, the stealth device on a standard 1 agi ship only protects ~.6 damage, I'm sure for ibby it's a bit higher, but I doubt it comes close to 1 since even on a 3agi ship it's only ~.85 best case. But if you're trying your best to make someone as non-killable as possible, its better than nothing (though the hull upgrade would now be a better use of points).

Edit: Also, as someone who has tried that build out - I found that I'm not that big of a fan of the SD on Ibby. While the first round you'll be a R3 and get a 3rd die, it means that you haven't swooped in such that you action denied the enemy, allowing SJ to block damage. As such, they're really throwing 2 dice, and she'll take damage like a normal ship, and then lose the SD before the next engagement when SJ can kick in and actually protect the SD. I suppose you could keep her out of the engagement for an extra turn, but then your other ships are getting attacked and dead.

Why wouldn't any TIE in a swarm focus? Especially when they plan to shoot at something with sensor jammers? Using an ideal scenario like that has nothing to do with reality. If you had Carnor Jax or something like that, you could at least claim it was possible, but since the Rebels do not have an area action denial like that the point is meaningless.

The best use of Sensor Jammer is to combine it with a prototype to action deny the opponent. Typically, if you can get the lead TIEs blocked, the rest will all run into the back of the other TIEs, leaving them with no actions. But if you read my edit, you'd realize that I already stated this, and that you're unlikely to be in range to action deny in turn 1, thus the Stealth device falls off before the sensor jammer can protect it.

Two other reason why they don't have a focus would be because they're shooting last and have spent them on defense, or they had to barrel roll in order to prevent a chain collision as stated above.

If you're Fel Flying then you can't do much better than Stealth + sheild. A lot of people talk about giving him TC but generally that's only going to get used 1-2 times a game.

The greatest advantage of the new cards is the ability to outfit Fel with an Imperial Guard Interceptor and then refer to him as the Red Baron. [bonus points if you then duel against Snoopy].

As far as what to equip him with, I think it depends largely on who you're fighting against. If you're opponent has turrets, then SD+Shield or Hull has a lot of merit. If they don't, PTL+SD should be defense enough and TC can swap in. It may be only used once or twice, but that once or twice can knock an enemy ship out of the game.

At PS9, Fell should not be subject to a lot of fire. Once he naturally finds himself in a situation where no one (or only one at R3) can shoot him, TL and Focus will be the death of his target. I see it as a great 2 point investment. For lower lever, say PS6, Interceptors; SD and Shield will radically change how durable these fighters are.

I was sketchy about the enthusiasm for Targeting Computer on Fel, but the more I think about it, the more it grows on me. I think about the situations where I boost or barrel roll Fel so he's not at risk of being shot at, but I still want to focus, so I end up PTL'ing, taking a double focus, and end up stressed with a wasted focus. Being able to turn those situations into a TL+F is very appealing.

I have a 3 Interceptor build I can't wait to run and I also have a Vader + 2 Interceptors idea I have high hopes for as well.

I was sketchy about the enthusiasm for Targeting Computer on Fel, but the more I think about it, the more it grows on me. I think about the situations where I boost or barrel roll Fel so he's not at risk of being shot at, but I still want to focus, so I end up PTL'ing, taking a double focus, and end up stressed with a wasted focus. Being able to turn those situations into a TL+F is very appealing.

I think THAT is going to make him an even bigger threat!

I am going to try a heavily modded Ibitsam tonight: elusiveness, Stealth and sensor Jammers

As soon as she gets Stress from either Elusiveness or a red maneuver her rerolling ability is activated (1 dice on Attacks and/or on defense. Stealth adds a dice so on R3 she starts off with 3 dice and can still force the opponent to reroll 1 red dice and may reroll one of her greens

Stealth on a 1 agility ship is a waste. Even if you could get sensor jammer to work every time, stealth isn't going to last more than 2 shots.

I think the Ibtisam idea sounds great!

Some seem to ignore that a Stealth Device that works twice is worth its cost. A Hull or Shield Upgrade will cost the same or more and only spare your fragile derriere once.

I have had several games where my SD+PTL Interceptors got hammered again and again but managed to win the games unharmed. You will have trouble doing that with an extra shield IMO.

I was sketchy about the enthusiasm for Targeting Computer on Fel, but the more I think about it, the more it grows on me. I think about the situations where I boost or barrel roll Fel so he's not at risk of being shot at, but I still want to focus, so I end up PTL'ing, taking a double focus, and end up stressed with a wasted focus. Being able to turn those situations into a TL+F is very appealing.

I was in the same boat as you and thought about equiping it with SD+Shield once I get my hands on the Royal Guard. But after last night game, first thing I'll try will be Fel +PtL+SD-TC. There was at least 3 situations where I was in good position and out of sight after one barrel roll or boost so I ended up doing a focus action and got 2 focus; Focus+target lock would have been much better. There was also a situation where I could not get out of the B-Wing way, so I boosted to range one to finish him up since he only had 2 hull left, I would have LOVED to have a TL on him to maximize my chance of doing 3 hits. ( I still got him, but it was stressful and Fel already has too much stress....)

So yeah, until I have a bad game with him, it will be PtL+SD+TC.

Stealth on a 1 agility ship is a waste. Even if you could get sensor jammer to work every time, stealth isn't going to last more than 2 shots.

And if stealth lasts 2 shots, that is equivalent to 2 Shields, or 8 points considering the cost of a shield upgrade. How in the world could you possibly consider that a waste? Even if it only prevented a single point of damage, it's STILL better than a shield upgrade.

The thing is, it's not a garanteed success. Without Focus, it has a 37.5% of giving you an evade, 62.5% if you use a focus. So, it might help you soak a damage or keep it from the first strike, it might also go blank from the first shot and you lose it from the start. There is also good chances that you will lose it from the first shot at you.

So, on a 1 agility ship, I will also prefer a hull or shield upgrade, cause you know, dice are rarely kind to me. It's a gamble really, if you keep your focus for defense, it should pay off in the long run (over the course of multiple match), if not, you're better off getting another upgrade. And quite frankly, with a B-Wing, Falcon or Lambda, you'll probably use your focus on attack.

Stealth on a 1 agility ship is a waste. Even if you could get sensor jammer to work every time, stealth isn't going to last more than 2 shots.

And if stealth lasts 2 shots, that is equivalent to 2 Shields, or 8 points considering the cost of a shield upgrade. How in the world could you possibly consider that a waste? Even if it only prevented a single point of damage, it's STILL better than a shield upgrade.

Because of math.

Yes... IF it prevented 2 points of damage, it would be better than a shield upgrade. However, what's the probability that it will prevent 2 points of damage? Let's take a look shall we?

Lets go and say you're at R3, so you have 2 agility. And lets say your opponent rolled 2 hits, either from a 3 attack w/ F or 2 attack w/ F + HR. So, you have to roll 1 out of 2 evades on your natural evade dice, and then roll 1 evade on your stealth device for the SD to prevent a damage (and stay alive, which it needs to in order to prevent a 2nd). Rolling 1 evade is a 47% chance when you have 2 dice. And then rolling 1 evade with the SD is 37.5% chance. That means, that it has a 17.625% of evading 1 damage and staying alive on the first attack. But there are other outcomes for the first attack. It can prevent a damage but fall off (14.625%), it can stay but not prevent damage (14%) or it can fall off without preventing any damage (54%)...

So, then this repeats for the second attack. If it prevented a damage already, then it just needs to prevent one more to prevent 2 damage... so that is 17% (from the first attack) * (17 (prevent + stay) + 14 (prevent and fall off))... This gives you a probability of 5.27% of this happening... But wait! there's more ways for it to prevent 2 damage... it can not be needed on the first attack, and do it on the 2nd and 3rd... or whatever. So, lets take a look at all of the possibilities... Each additional attack will add a small bit of expected damage mitigated. And when we hit 30 attacks, it effectively levels off at .43 damage mitigated. (Note, it reaches 95% of this value after only 2 attacks).

So, what does that mean? It means that if your opponent rolled 2 hits, the stealth device will, on average, mitigate .43 of a hit if you have 1 agility. It also means that after two attacks, you've basically seen all you're going to see out of the SD. So, with that .43 / 3 points, you get .143 damage mitigation per point. Shield upgrade provides .25 damage mitigation per point. Hull upgrade provides .33 damage mitigation per point. Soooo, it's vastly inferior to to both SU and HU. And yes, this is ignoring crits, but that would only help the SD vs. the HU anyways.

Edit: And while these numbers change for whether your opponent rolls 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 hits, and whether you have 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 agility, it never breaks even with the hull upgrade.

A Hull or Shield upgrade is also subject to the random-ness of the dice as well, as a Direct Hit to hull can always add an extra damage that renders your additional hull obsolete, or an Ion turret causes you to fly off the map, in which case shields/hull have no effect.

The extra agility performed better the vast majority of the time in my testings. I even have a video on my channel showing my methods and results. Stealth device is clearly the best survival modification available.

However, I can understand if someone would rather spend the points elsewhere, IE toward an extra ship or something. But clearly a shield upgrade is an awful waste of points UNLESS you are using r2d2 and/or draw their fire.

With at least 30% of this game being decided by luck, math does not hold the power many believe it does in this game. It is a great way to hypothesize, but luck limits it to just that.

The Imperial Aces upgrades and pilots reward high risk play style. Is putting a 3rd of your points into a single Imperial ship risky? Heck yea! But so is getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in the fan. (R.I.P. Leslie Nelson) Is it REALLY going to hurt when you Interceptor rolls 5 red dice? Also, HECK YEA!

There are two (if not more) different styles of play for this game. Han relies on luck and heavy firepower, while Obi-won falls back on his training and uses tactics to his advantage. Both get the job done.

Stealth on a 1 agility ship is a waste. Even if you could get sensor jammer to work every time, stealth isn't going to last more than 2 shots.

And if stealth lasts 2 shots, that is equivalent to 2 Shields, or 8 points considering the cost of a shield upgrade. How in the world could you possibly consider that a waste? Even if it only prevented a single point of damage, it's STILL better than a shield upgrade.

Because of math.

...

But in your math if you factor in averages....

Lets say I have 2 B-Wings each with a Stealth Device.

Lets say the first one ends up failing right away without preventing even one hit (2 black dice).

But then let's say the 2nd one ends up saving the ship through 5+ attacks....

If the Stealth Device dropped off after the first attack then I understand the math is strictly against it.

But there are so many variables. Including playstyle. When using a Stealth Device I'm going to play differently. I'm not ever going to bump (intentionally), I'm going to steer clear of asteroids more-so than usual. I'm going to ensure that I can focus every turn... so I don't have to just roll a pure evade on that last die.

As far as Hull Upgrade... there is ONLY one possible use for it, and that is on the HWK - to bring it's hull up to a value of 5, so the flechette torpedo won't stress it.

A Hull or Shield upgrade is also subject to the random-ness of the dice as well, as a Direct Hit to hull can always add an extra damage that renders your additional hull obsolete, or an Ion turret causes you to fly off the map, in which case shields/hull have no effect.

The extra agility performed better the vast majority of the time in my testings. I even have a video on my channel showing my methods and results. Stealth device is clearly the best survival modification available.

However, I can understand if someone would rather spend the points elsewhere, IE toward an extra ship or something. But clearly a shield upgrade is an awful waste of points UNLESS you are using r2d2 and/or draw their fire.

Yes, HU and SU can be 100% wasted if you end up being overkilled by 1 or more damage. But the same can be said about SD. It can negate 1 hit, but you end up being overkilled by 1 or more damage. If you didn't negate that hit, you'd die at the same time regardless.

I highly recommend rolling the stealth device die separate from the other dice. And only roll it when you need it. More often than not, on high agility ships you won't need it. On low agility ships, it won't help. That's the default reaction of the SD. So while you might live through 4 attacks without losing your SD at R3 behind an asteroid with F+E... how much damage would you have taken without that extra die? Math says its relatively low (I haven't actually done this specific calculation to provide a number).

There's two ways of looking at how the math impacts the game. You can say that the game has so much luck that it doesn't matter and let your personal small sample size color the true results, or you can acknowledge that each game is a subset of the results, but in order to better oneself over a great number of games, one needs to listen to the math.